In conclusion, "Pacific Rim" is an enjoyable popcorn film, which has brains, wit and a fair few decent fight sequences.

Rating: 7/10 (5 August 2013)

"Pacific Rim" (12A) Director: Guillermo del Toro. Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman. Rated: 12A for containing, frequent moderate violence and one use of strong language. Running time: 131 minutes. Out now in UK cinemas.
Set in the near future, beneath the pacific ocean; a portal opens which lets large monsters (called Kaiju) invade the mainland and wreak havoc upon its citizens. Soon, war breaks out and when mankind seems to be on its knees, a turn in the war occurs and the "Jaeger" program is launched. Two pilots mind's combine to fight, within robotic machines that could be humanities last hope of survival.
Guillermo del Toro. The man responsible for some of Cinema's most abstract and challenging pieces. He began his career with short films and gradually worked his way up into larger productions, his first being "Cronos". Since 2004, Del Toro has left the abstract films and moved into more mainstream films like "Hellboy1+2" and "Blade 2"; but never forgetting his flair for the art in his sets.
He then moved back in 2006 to the fantasy genre, with "Pans Labyrinth". A film set during world war two, which follows the story of a young girl who instead of wanting to grow up, becomes fascinated with the existence of fairy tales. "Pans Labyrinth" was received well by the majority of critics. "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" then followed and was met with praise on the film's special effects.
The idea for "Pacific Rim" has been in development since early two thousand and six and was passed from company to company, proving that "Pacific Rim" had to be of a certain standard. A popcorn movie. Del Toro was not pleased and the project was dropped from Universal Pictures; but was eventually taken up by Legendary pictures.
"Pacific Rim" is undoubtedly a largely enjoyable spectacle, that is clear. What isn't clear (unfortunately) is some of the scenes including the Kaiju. Most of the scenes take place in the night time and it is fairly hard to make out who is fighting who at many points. If a sequel is going to go ahead, then my only advice would be to show more action sequences during the day.
The acting is surprisingly good. Charlie Hunnam is a terrific actor, who has showed us his ability in the much loved series "Sons Of Anarchy" (in which he plays Jackson Teller). Here, he is put in a role suited to him in which he shines. Idris Elba takes a step back from his serious career and has chosen to perform a role that can be serious, but requires little effort from the star of BBC One's "Luther" but is still engaging to watch. Rinko Kikuchi, a star of many independent films, has finally had her chance to show her skill in acting and break away into a more mainstream film and acts well.
The special effects are a joy to watch. After the success of the "Transformer" trilogy, films on large scales had to be improved and "Pacific Rim" has achieved just that. Legacy effects were hired and had worked on projects similar to this before.
In conclusion, "Pacific Rim" is an enjoyable popcorn film, which has brains, wit and a fair few decent fight sequences. Improvement on the night sequences would be appreciated, but if "Pacific Rim" has a sequel similar to this; I think I'll be willing to watch it.
4 STARS.
Written by Scott Gentry.